Robe construction

ABSTRACT

A robe, which may be jacket length or full length, is featured by novel sleeve and armhole structure and lapel and collar structure which lend maximum comfort to the wearer along with simple elegance. The cape sleeves are not stitched in the underarm portions and fall free with the greater length toward the rear. This promotes freedom of arm movement, coolness and underarm ventilation and makes a garment of one size actually perfectly comfortable for persons of different proportions. The lapels and collar are cut unitary with the front panels and this, along with the foregoing armhole treatment, make for ease and simplicity in making the garment. The same features also make the robe reversible with unexpected ease and facilitate the double ply construction of the garment for such reversal.

United StatesPa-tent [191 Wiley 1 1 July 3, 1973 1 ROBE CONSTRUCTION 76I t 3 Ma 1. W1 280 P k A Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin 1 men or J52 5Calif g g Assistant Examiner-William L. Falk Attorney-Knox & Knox [22]Filed: June 1, 1971 Appl. No.: 148,679

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Great Britain 2/93 [5 7 ABSTRACT A robe,which may be jacket length or full length, is featured by novel sleeveand armhole structure and lapel and collar structure which lend maximumcomfort to the wearer along with simple elegance. The cape sleeves arenot stitched in the underarm portions and fall free with the greaterlength toward the rear. This promotes freedom of arm movement, coolnessand underarm ventilation and makes a garment of one size actuallyperfectly comfortable for persons of different proportions. The lapelsand collar are cut unitary with the front panels and this, along withthe foregoing armhole treatment, make for ease and simplicity in makingthe garment. The same features also make the robe reversible withunexpected ease and facilitate the double ply construction of thegarment for such reversal.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUL 3 973 SHEET 2 BF 2 INVENTOR.MARY I. WILEY 14mm & 142x036 Fig.7

ROBE CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This robe is suggestive ofthe prior art luxuriously styled Kubuki and Dashiki robes, thus namedprimarily in reference to sleeve treatment, but these prior art robes donot feature sleeves having unequal lengths of material falling free atthe forward and rear ends of open underarm portions. Cape sleeves per seare not new and linings are commonly extended into collar and lapelportions. The illustrated side slitting of the longer robes and thevertical seaming of collar panels at the rear of the neck portions, inboth the long and jacket length embodiments, are recognized as wellknown in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As claimed herein the robe, aside from anydesired belt or similar accessory, is formed from a back panel, I

two front panels and parabolic sleeve sections. The back and frontpanels have armhole notches with substantially horizontal underarmportions remaining unattached to the sleeve sections which fall wellbelow the front and rear ends of underarm portions with the greaterportion of the sleeve being disposed toward the rear. The open underarmportion structure facilitates inversion of the sleeves and the garmentis ordinarily made fully reversible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT The robe is best understood when the construction thereoffrom the component parts is considered. These component parts arepreferably limited to the back panel 10, right and left panels 12 and14, cape sleeves l6 and ordinarily a belt 20.

The back panel 10 is generally rectangular with laterally opposedarmhole notches 22 which may have slightly curved or substantiallystraight vertical edges 24 and substantially horizontal underarmportions 26. The top edge of theback panel 10 has opposed shoulder edges28 sloping upwardly from the armhole notches 22 to acurvedrear-of-the-neck edge 30..

The right and left front panels 12 and 14 are counterparts and each hasan armhole notch having a substantially horizontal underarm portion 34and a generally vertically extending portion 36 which may be curved asindicated in FIG. 1. A top-of-the-shoulder edge 38 is dimensioned forstitching to the shoulder edge 28 and an inclined edge 40 is dimensionedfor stitching to said rear-of-the-neck edge 30. The terminal edges 42are sewn together to complete the collar 44 of the robe which is thenfolded as illustrated in FIG. 7. The actual stitching of therear-of-the-neck portions is indicated at 46 in FIG. 5 and the stitchingof the tOp-of-the-shoulder edge is indicated at 48. The side edges ofthe panels are of course stitched as at 50, ordinarily with splits 52preserved at the bottom of the garment.

The cape sleeves are, when spread out as indicated in FIG. 2, parabolicin shape with a straight edge 54 which is stitched, as at 56 in FIG. 6,to the generally vertical portions 24 and 36 of the back and frontpanels, respectively. The sleeves are not attached to the underarmportions 26 and 34 and the sleeves are stitched in position so that, asworn, a front wing 58 of the cape sleeve is shorter than the rear-wing60 of the cape sleeve, each wing falling free below an end of saidsubstantially horizontal underarm portion 26 or 34.

Two modifications of the invention are illustrated in the single FIG. 4wherein a jacket length robe is indicated and the important underarmportion 34 is deleted from the front panel configuration. As illustratedthe edge 62 which is secured to the side edges of the back panel may besubstantially straight throughout and the open underarm structure inthis case is limited to that provided by the underarm portion 26 of theback panel. As a further alternative, not illustrated, the open underarmstructure can be provided by substantially horizontal notch portions ineither or both the back and the front panels. Ordinarily a belt 20 isadded as an accessory unless other closure means is provided.

The above mentioned structure is particularly suitable for use inreversible robes since the inversion of the sleeves is facilitated bythe open underarm feature. In reversible robes each of the panels andcape sleeves is duplicated in a different fabric or color and each setis sewn separately substantially as described above and then the setsare sewn together, almost completely, after which they are turned insideout to hide the fabric edges and finish stitched as in common seamstressprocedure. In this regard the reversible feature of the robe is similarto ordinary lining where the lining is an exact duplicate comfigurationof the outer fabric, but in the instant invention the garment isparticularly easily reversible by reason of the open or unattachedunderarm portion feature. In addition the same feature provides formaximal underarm ventilation and coolness, nonrestrictive sleeveconstruction by reason of the front wings 58 being shorter than the rearwings 60 and this last feature is extremely important aesthetically alsosince the second or reverse fabric of the longer rear wings 60 can bedisplayed to advantage to complement the effect of the lapels 64 whichalso will display the second or reverse fabric.

I claim:

1. A robe comprising a generally rectangular back panel havinglongitudinal side edges and rectilinear arm edge portions disposedupwardly of said side back panel edges and extending generally inhorizontally inward and vertically upward runs forming laterally opposedarmhole notches, opposed shoulder edges extending in upwardly andinwardly sloping directions from said edge portions of said armholenotches and terminating in a curved edgeiportion lying between saidshoulder edges forming arear collar section thereat; right and leftfront panels each having arm edge portions disposed upwardly andextending substantially in horizontal inward and vertically upward runsforming an armhole notch and a longitudinally side edge extendingtherefrom, an outwardly inclined shoulder edge extending upwardly fromsaid edge portions of each said front panel armhole notch and a lapelportion extending upwardly from each said front panel shoulder edgethereby forming a unitary collar and lapel construction; means securingeach of said longitudinal side edges of said right and left front panelsto the corresponding said longitudinal side edge of said back panelalong a portion thereof and along corresponding shoulder edge portionsof said front and back panels; means securing each of said lapelportions together at their terminal edges and along a line conforming tosaid rear collar section right and left cape sleeves, means securingsaid cape sleeves to said generally vertical edge portions of said frontand back panel armhole notches only, said sleeves having free fallingedge portions extending downwardly beneath said arm edge portions.

2. A robe according to claim 1 wherein said cape sleeves are parabolicsections of material with straight edges thereof secured solely to saidsubstantially vertical edge portions of said armholes with less thanonehalf portion of each section constituting a front wing having thelower edge thereof above the level of the lower edge of the rear wing ofthe sleeve, giving greater freedom of movement to the forearms of thewearer.

3. A robe according to claim 1 and having a collar and lapels unitarywith said front panels, said robe being lined and very easily pulledthrough the armholes in reversing the garment by reason of thenonsecurement of the cape sleeves to said underarm edge portions.

1. A robe comprising a generally rectangular back panel havinglongitudinal side edges and rectilinear arm edge portions disposedupwardly of said side back panel edges and extending generally inhorizontally inward and vertically upward runs forming laterally opposedarmhole notches, opposed shoulder edges extending in upwardly andinwardly sloping directions from said edge portions of said armholenotches and terminating in a curved edge portion lying between saidshoulder edges forming a rear collar section thereat; right and leftfront panels each having arm edge portions disposed upwardly andextending substantially in horizontal inward and vertically upward runsforming an armhole notch and a longitudinal side edge extendingtherefrom, an outwardly inclined shoulder edge extending uPwardly fromsaid edge portions of each said front panel armhole notch and a lapelportion extending upwardly from each said front panel shoulder edgethereby forming a unitary collar and lapel construction; means securingeach of said longitudinal side edges of said right and left front panelsto the corresponding said longitudinal side edge of said back panelalong a portion thereof and along corresponding shoulder edge portionsof said front and back panels; means securing each of said lapelportions together at their terminal edges and along a line conforming tosaid rear collar section; right and left cape sleeves, means securingsaid cape sleeves to said generally vertical edge portions of said frontand back panel armhole notches only, said sleeves having free fallingedge portions extending downwardly beneath said arm edge portions.
 2. Arobe according to claim 1 wherein said cape sleeves are parabolicsections of material with straight edges thereof secured solely to saidsubstantially vertical edge portions of said armholes with less thanone-half portion of each section constituting a front wing having thelower edge thereof above the level of the lower edge of the rear wing ofthe sleeve, giving greater freedom of movement to the forearms of thewearer.
 3. A robe according to claim 1 and having a collar and lapelsunitary with said front panels, said robe being lined and very easilypulled through the armholes in reversing the garment by reason of thenonsecurement of the cape sleeves to said underarm edge portions.